Report Details

1. Carrier and Flight Number:

US Airways Flight # US28 SEA-CLT

1. Date and Time of Incident:

August 30, 2005, between 11:15am (local, Seattle, WA) and 8:00pm (local, Charlotte, NC)

1. Description of the Animal:

Cat – “Tommy”

1. Identification of the Owner(s) and/or Guardian(s) of the Animal:

-Name and address redacted-

1. Narrative Description of the Incident:

Ms. [redacted] checked two cats in one kennel on flight 72, scheduled to operate from Seattle to Philadelphia. The cargo vendor at Seattle failed to load the cat onto the flight on which it was scheduled, and it instead rode on flight 28 to Charlotte, where it was to connect into Philadelphia. On arrival into Charlotte, as the aircraft cargo was being unloaded, the kennel fell apart and “Tommy” ran away.

1. Narrative Description of the Cause of the Incident:

There are two events at play: the failure to load the cats onto the correct flight and the eventual escape of the cat on arrival into Charlotte. The cause of the latter cannot be fully determined, although there are some contributing factors: a. The kennel was not of adequate design. Instead of being constructed as one rigid unit, it was a “snap-together” unit that could be disassembled. b. Ms. [redacted] checked large two cats in one kennel. Our staff in Seattle was not made aware that two cats were in the kennel, nor did they check. Our policy is to accept only one animal per kennel. c. The ground handling vendor at Seattle, FSS, was interviewed and its personnel deny any mishandling of the kennel that might have contributed to its coming apart. Security personnel at Huntleigh assert the animals were cleared in a timely manner. FSS staff indicate the location in which kennels are placed for departing flights was checked 15 minutes before the departure of US72, and the cats were not present. d. The ground handling staff at Charlotte were interviewed and deny any mishandling of the kennel that might have contributed to its coming apart.

1. Narrative Description of any Corrective Action Taken in Response to the Incident:

The ground handling vendor and security staff at Seattle have been counseled on picking up cargo in a timely manner. It appears inadequate kennel design ultimately caused this event and it does not appear the fact that the cat missed its scheduled flight had anything to do with it ultimately becoming lost.

1. Name, Title, Address and Telephone Number of Individual Filing the Report:

-Name and address redacted-